What happened to this soap?

[Tillbillycat76]

Hi…I’m fairly new to soap making..I’m wondering what could have went wrong with this batch of soap. It’s a recipe I’ve used before, the only difference is I tried to make a silvery-white mica swirl (almond oil and mica) which I tried to swirl with a hanger tool. When I unmolded the soap three days later I found a yellowish discoloration along with an oily-like blob through the center of the entire loaf and no swirl! I mixed, poured, decorated the top and placed it in the refrigerator to slow down any heat…this loaf smells great and looked fine from the outside until I cut it! I never had issues with the three other batches I made with this recipe, so I don’t know if it was the extra almond oil or the (different) fragrance oil I used, or unknowingly mis-measured something—I’m disappointed ….the recipe uses distilled water, cow milk, tussah silk, sodium hydroxide, fractionated coconut oil, cocoa butter, castor oil, almond oil, olive oil, fragrance oil, and mica, and sodium lactate. I’m worried about remaking this one and having another ruined batch!

Thanks!

 

[dmcgee5034]

Looks like it got really hot inside….. I’ve had a loaf crack from the internal heat. I think you’ll want to zap test it to be sure it’s safe, hopefully it’s just cosmetic and you can say it’s a monster soap or something fun.

 

[AliOop]

Yep, definitely looks like a heat tunnel to me. It sounds like you have used this recipe before, except for a little bit more almond oil, and a different FO. Is that correct?

If so, the almond oil is highly unlikely to be the culprit; the most likely suspect is going to be the FO. What brand was it, and how are the soaping reviews?

As an aside, I'm curious why you used fractionated coconut oil instead of regular coconut oil. FCO is often used in lotion-making, but it isn't that great in CP soft (tends to make the bars softer and a little harsher, IME). Regular CO is typically the better choice for CP soap.

 

[Tillbillycat76]

Yep, definitely looks like a heat tunnel to me. It sounds like you have used this recipe before, except for a little bit more almond oil, and a different FO. Is that correct?

If so, the almond oil is highly unlikely to be the culprit; the most likely suspect is going to be the FO. What brand was it, and how are the soaping reviews?

As an aside, I'm curious why you used fractionated coconut oil instead of regular coconut oil. FCO is often used in lotion-making, but it isn't that great in CP soft (tends to make the bars softer and a little harsher, IME). Regular CO is typically the better choice for CP soap.

Hi AliOop,

For fragrance oil, I used a combination of Nurture Soap’s Sugared Strawberry and Nature’s Garden Baby Powder. This recipe was one of my first few recipes I made which I plugged into Soap Calc. The first time I made it, I found it to be soft when it was unmolded and thought I was going to have some garbage soap, but after it cured I thought it turned out to be a really nice soap—the bars have hardened nicely and foam up well…I’m not sure if I got confused and thought it didn’t make a difference which coconut oil I used or thought I saw it in another recipe (because this recipe was one of the first few I made), but so far I haven’t noticed it to be drying. I also use lotion frequently so maybe it’s hard for me to tell. I may try these fragrance oils and design in a different recipe—because I like how the soap smelled—I just want the colors and design to remain intact.

 

[Tillbillycat76]

Looks like it got really hot inside….. I’ve had a loaf crack from the internal heat. I think you’ll want to zap test it to be sure it’s safe, hopefully it’s just cosmetic and you can say it’s a monster soap or something fun.

I will ph test this one—I can’t see myself giving or selling these to anyone—I guess it’ll be added to the others my husband and I will have to use…Seriously, I don’t have enough years or skin left to use up all the bars I consider botched!!

 

[dmcgee5034]

I will ph test this one—I can’t see myself giving or selling these to anyone—I guess it’ll be added to the others my husband and I will have to use…Seriously, I don’t have enough years or skin left to use up all the bars I consider botched!!

Just a note of caution, don’t trust a Ph strip - they aren’t accurate for soap. Please take a moment and read about a zap test here written by our own @DeeAnna. This is how you can be sure your soap is safe and not lye heavy.

 

[Relle]

I will ph test this one—I can’t see myself giving or selling these to anyone—I guess it’ll be added to the others my husband and I will have to use…Seriously, I don’t have enough years or skin left to use up all the bars I consider botched!!

Please don't even consider selling until you become more proficient in the soaping process, it shouldn't even be in your vocabulary.

 

[Tillbillycat76]

Just a note of caution, don’t trust a Ph strip - they aren’t accurate for soap. Please take a moment and read about a zap test here written by our own @DeeAnna. This is how you can be sure your soap is safe and not lye heavy.

I guess the soap is fine—I did a zap test and Ph test—just doesn’t look pretty …oh well—into the pile my husband and I are stuck using ourselves!!

 

[AliOop]

I guess the soap is fine—I did a zap test and Ph test—just doesn’t look pretty …oh well—into the pile my husband and I are stuck using ourselves!!

I donate a lot of usable-but-not-so-pretty soap to the homeless shelters and halfway houses on our area. They love it!